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Tech Founder Complains About the Shithole City He's Forced to Make His Millions In

San Francisco! It's the worst. The weather, the people, the cyclists, the dreary architecture and glum landscape… just ugh—why would any sane person want to live in this urine-scented homeless wasteland? Without the skrillions of available venture funding dollars and generous tech tax breaks, it's obvious San Franawful would drift off into an ocean of irrelevance.

At least, that's the opinion of Peter Shih, co-founder of an assuredly ground-breaking credit card-processing start-up who was forced to move to San Francisco by his cruel funders at Y-Combinator. Peter took to Medium—the thought platform that's currently the darling hood ornament of the tech community—to air his thoughts on his adopted hometown. Cleverly titled “10 Things I Hate About You: San Francisco Edition”—which I won't link to on principle—he breaks down SF's problems in a conveniently digestible listicle.

Let's take a look at his better points:

1. Public Transportation

If you don’t agree with me that the SF MUNI is a pathetic excuse for a public transportation system, then I suggest you visit either of the following cities at your convenience and then proceed to get your head out of your ass: New York City, London, Paris, Tokyo, Taipei, Hong Kong, Seoul, and… actually you know what? Just goto any real city…

San Francisco should be lucky to have Peter. Peter is bringing the credit card industry to its knees. Peter is going to change the fucking world. How dare San Francisco consider itself a realcity when its public transportation service isn't exactly what Peter expects. If Peter lived in a realcity, Peter wouldn't need to call an Uber to get where he needs to go. San Francisco is making Peter use Uber. How dare San Francisco?

3. Weather

I hate how the weather here is like a woman who is constantly PMSing. I hate how I can’t tell the difference between August and February. I hate how I have to turn on the heater in the middle of summer. I hate having to always carry a jacket because of the 20 degree swings between day and night.

Nature, who the fuck do you think you are? Peter understands that you're Mother Nature, but you're at least 6,000-years-old according to Rick Perry. Can't you go through menopause already? Peter needs it to be at least 10 degrees warmer outside so Peter can leave his tech-branded hoodie at home. Peter is about to unfollow @karlthefog on Twitter.

5. 49ers

No, not the football team, they’re great. I’m referring to all the girls who are obviously 4's and behave like they are 9's. Just because San Francisco has the worst Female to Male ratio in the known universe doesn’t give you the right to be a bitch all the time.

Peter is special. Peter was accepted into Y-Combinator. Can you imagine some dumb shit woman possibly thinking they are slightly-less-than-perfect around Peter? Peter is a God. They should make statues of Peter. You are a woman in a club. You are just a 4 compared to Peter.

6. Homeless People

San Francisco has some of the craziest homeless people I have ever seen in my life. Stop giving them money, you know they just buy alcohol and drugs with it right? Next time just hand them a handle of vodka and a pack of cigarettes, it’ll save everyone some trouble. I’m seriously tempted to start fucking with people and pay for homeless guys to ride the Powell street cable cars in the middle of the day, that ought to get the city’s attention.

Peter has been crushing it lately. Peter's start-up is seeing exponential growth. Peter is raising money. Peter is raising hell. Peter is about to hire a growth hacker. Peter is king.

But San Francisco is bringing Peter down. San Francisco is allowing mentally ill, drug-addicted homeless people abandoned by society to be in the same 49 square miles as Peter. Peter does not approve. Peter just wants to make apps for other Peters, call out some women for being bitches, and put the world's issues out of Peter's mind. But Peter is a visionary. Peter is an innovator. Peter is going to disrupt the city's blindness to Peter's problem with homeless people by paying the homeless to hang out with tourists. Peter will solve homelessness for Peter.

8. Nightlife (or lack thereof)

Nowadays I don’t even want to go out because getting kicked out of a bar/club at 2AM, which usually is the peak of the night, is just depressing. Pair that shit sandwich with public transit being non-existent past midnight and the Transvestite to Taxi ratio being quite literally off the charts – it is impossible to get home safely, especially if you live far from downtown.

Peter is a warrior. Peter is not some 9-to-5, color-inside-the-lines corporate drone: Peter is a code-slaying rebel. Peter believes that if you work hard, you should get to play hard too. Peter wants to shred code all day that disrupts the credit card market, drinking Red Bull and eating Swedish Fish at his desk until 10pm, then go to the club and scold all the 4s who think they're 9s for being bitches. Can you imagine the gall of California State Law telling him to go home at 2am?

What a bunch of 4s.

10. Bicyclists

Stop being fucking hypocrites. If you want to share the road, then you need to respect the rules of the road and stop running stop signs and lights. Next time I see one of you fuckers bomb through a crosswalk and almost mow down a row of pedestrians I’m going to clothesline you.

Peter drives like he codes: move fast and break things. Like government regulations and general ethics, bicycles are just getting in the way of Peter's greatness. Peter will fucking clothesline you.

Peter should go home.

UPDATE: Peter is backtracking. Peter has deleted the most offensive parts of Peter's article and put up a desperate disclaimer stating it was intended to be satire. Here is the original post.

It’s ironic that the worst thing, by far, about San Francisco - the pretense that EVERYONE who lives here exhibits with impunity - is the one thing that Peter didn’t mention. And the one thing nearly every commenter below blithely exudes.

I mean, according to the 200 +/- web denizens below, there is absolutely nothing wrong with this city upon a hill - and if you don’t bow down before the majesty that is San Francisco, you’re obviously deluded or ignorant. Or you just don’t understand. I mean, how you could NOT love it here, right? Ugh.

Let’s get a couple of things straight. Public transportation in San Francisco is AWFUL - significantly (and statistically) worse than EVERY major city in America. It’s dirty, incompetently run, and utterly inconvenient. However, instead of truthfully looking at the problem and trying to come up with practical solutions, all San Franciscans do is attack the critic. Truth is - he’s right!

The homeless problem? Spot on, again. Perhaps - just maybe - the city of San Francisco should dedicate some of that time it spends trying to pass inane legislation (circumcision ban, I’m looking at you!) to trying to REALISTICALLY address the homeless problem. This might blow most of your minds, I know - but I’ve lived in Chicago, DC, NYC, and LA - and there are more homeless people here than those cities combined.

The techie attitude? Check. Believe it or not, most of the world doesn’t care about the coolest apps, Google, or venture capitalists. The way the tech community in San Francisco dismisses anything and anyone who doesn’t work at a start-up is disturbing. The closest thing I can think of to the narcissism that SF techies exude is the banking industry in NYC - and at least those people have something to back up their arrogance. Smartphone games (hello, Zynga) aren’t exactly making the world a better place.

I could go on and on - but there’s no point. Instead of looking at the problems this city has - and coming up with thoughtful solutions - all these commentators want to do is smuggly dismiss the messenger as a passerby who will be “gone in a year”.

For San Francisco’s sake, I hope he’s not. We need more people like him.

Some of us read and understood Swift’s “A Modesty Proposal”. Rather than hearing “alms for the poor”, perhaps we should glorify Kevin’s attempt at the new “Satire State” with him using a Chinese whipping-boy as his first example.

If Kevin M. had his ways, there wouldn’t be a First Amendment in the Constitution or any non-SF native Chinese.

The bottomline is if Kevin M. enjoys the benefits of the First Amendment, so do the rest of us no matter how strong Kevin M. hates Chinese like Adolf hated six million Jews. In Adolf’s case, he didn’t like Jews and we knew how that turned out. In the South, they lynched dark-skinned people because they could. I guess in 2013 with access to the internet, if you don’t like non-native SF Chinese, then you act like Kevin M.

Personally, I though “49ers” was original and funny! It would have been equally funny if a female writer had said that about men. Or if gays had written about heterosexuals or metrosexuals, etc.

It’s Satire with a capital “S”. Please don’t forget to read the memo. And Kevin M. using a Chinese as a whipping-boy was a really dumb idea.

Did you not get the memo? I emailed it to you.
I hit you up on the fax machine with the memo.
I tweeted you two time with the memo.
I had an intern text you the memo (it was long and I didn’t want to retype.)
I caledl you and read you the memo.
It might be in your voicemail, idk.
It’s on your facebook wall, the memo.
Kidding, fuck facebook. I meeboed it to you.
You know I got you on the instagram.
I did not telegram it.
My bad, but I think it hard to blame on on that one.
I mean, it made the youtube reaction about it.
Thought you’d see it at that point.
The memo, I mean.

Maybe you should wait until you get it.
Maybe you should hesitate to speak if you haven’t gotten it.
I mean, maybe you should not open your stupid mouth about some stuff
that I think at this point, we all know you know nothing about.
Are you willfully ignoring my memo?
Is that it?

Is it because I’m Chinese?

Look bud, I read Jonathan Swift.
I know what’s funny.
Poverty, that’s funny.
Substance addiction, that’s funny.
Mental problems, always funny.
Bitches: so so funny.
Fuck bitches. Haha! Get it?
It’s a joke because women are dumb cunts, and we all know that, and they need to know that too.
It’s satire because I’m just saying what we’re all thinking.

Jonathan Swift knew we would all eat babies if it came down to it.
Jonathan Swift, now that’s a guy I’d like to meet.
I love Jonathan Swift.
Jonathan Swift is San Francisco.
I love San Francisco,
but sometimes it’s a dumb bitch that needs to know its place.
Which is somewhere around my dick but with good vibes.
Just rub my dick with good vibes and we’re good.
Just be good to me.
Please, you dumb bitch.
Just do it for me.

Some people don't notice this field | January 7th, 2014 @ 10:45am[Permalink]

This comment is completely ignorant. Basically calling Kevin M a racist because this Peter person happens to be something other than Caucasian? Dicks who are entitled and elitist and spew crap about the city that happens to be making them millions can come in any color. This guy, who is a complete ass and symbolizes a lot of what many of us hate about what is becoming of our fair city, did all of this to himself. He didn’t have to post this idiocy (and it isn’t even original idiocy, most of it has been said a million times my as many new transplants - and the 49er thing, is also not original, if you haven’t heard it, you haven’t been here long). In order for satire to work, it needs to be smart and funny, neither of which was this drivel - not to mention, he wasn’t satirizing anything (probably would be good if he knew what satire was). All I’m saying is that Peter should let the door of San Francisco hit him hard on his ass as he leaves the building. Take the rest of these pricks with you.

Uh…Uh…Uh…belch….Uh, what I uh meant to say, Uh, is that, uh…I’m thinking, uh…oh wait, there are worse places, uh…like Hollywood and the, uh, “Industry”. You could be faced with daily TMZ updates on Lindsay Lohan’s rehab stent. When I was a wee tyke, way back when, and the GD were the source of all wisdom, emanating said wisdom from the bowels of Alamo Square, the Panhandle, and Upper and Lower Haight….ahhh, uh…those were the days…mmmm…what was I saying? well, that’s all folks..time for a doobie.

Well said, Sir! How would you like to have grown up in the Bay Area (not in SF proper) back in the day when there was no such thing as Silicon Valley- but beautiful orchards and open space- and the ONLY acceptable place to go for entertainment (culture) was the CITY? Even though there were plenty of museums, restaurants, clubs, etc. outside of The City, the surrounding communities had (and still have) a huge inferiority complex. Friends and family who visited insisted on trekking to The City and then complain about the fog, tourists, homeless, expense, etc. No one will take your word for it that SF isn’t “all that”.

SF denizens have always lorded it over those who don’t live there- even though most of us who grew up in the surrounding area didn’t actually WANT to move there. For a short time when the Valley started sprouting computer companies (before the internet) and bulldozing orchards, the money and people pouring in made SF look like an old maid. The Valley was a happenin’ place and times were good. The City was just a place to go if you wanted dining that was almost on par with New York (and which was later displaced by the outlyers like Palo Alto, Berkeley, Sonoma) and was considered by most to be stuffy and boring.

Then came the internet. Even though the truly important people were building the companies that would provide the hipsters with their bread and butter in The Valley, a small faction of pilot fish established Silicon Alley in SF and declared themselves too cool for school. These little fish consisted mostly of the Creatives- tech writers, graphic artists, and about a zillion web programmers. They were like the influx of bright-eyed teenagers invading the Haight in 1967. Even then, the Netizens declared The City as the ONLY place worth living (tho most had to live in Milbrae or South SF).

The City will always claim to be the ONLY place worth living/working/breathing in the Bay Area. No amount of logic or evidence will persuade die-hard City folk that there is life out there in the outskirts. Anyone not mesmerized by it’s unique charms will be unceremoniusly drummed out of The City to lanquish in Martinez.

Thank goodness for a few lone voices (albeit slightly misogynist and snotty) that break the spell for a few moments.

“Let’s get a couple of things straight. Public transportation in San Francisco is AWFUL - significantly (and statistically) worse than EVERY major city in America”

Uhhhh….worse than Los Angeles, San Diego, Dallas, Atlanta, Houston, Miami….need I go on? Have you BEEN to those places and tried to get around only by public transit? In the amount of time it takes BART to take you from Martinez to Downtown SF you’d be about 20 blocks along in your Memphis, TN, bus ride.

Never been to SF but I have livd in places that have essentially Zero public transport (In memphis I sometimes had to wait up to 45 minutes for a bus to come during the middle of the day). In cities like that you really have no choice but to get your own car and drive everywhere. So even in the public transport isn’t perfect it’s still pretty nice to have something. Would love to visit SF one day, sad to hear that property prices are going through the roof and forcing long-time residents to move. Sadly this seems to be the trend for many cities.

I think the WAY Peter phrased his complaints is offensive. Some of his observations are shallow, but not everything he said is wrong.

MUNI is not the worst I have ever ridden, but it would not be able to keep pace with public transportation in other big cities in the country (a lot less the world).
- There is almost always one down bus with hazard lights blinking; either broken, or it has unlatched itself from the electrical cables.
- Few buses are not tagged by graffiti inside, or out.
- It’s slow with too many frequent stops. Within a 1 mile stretch, I don’t know how many times I had beaten the bus to Market Street by walking.
- It’s a very jerky ride. You need a strong stomach, and strong stomach muscles to avoid falling over and throwing up.
- The only climate control are small windows at the top of the bus. On a rare warm day, when you’re chest to back with other passengers, it’s not pleasant.

The homeless is a critical problem in San Francisco. They are most prominent on Market Street and its nearby areas, but even elsewhere, the stench of urine is common. The steaming piles inside doorways and alcoves are too big to be dog poo.

Even if one could ignore the olfactory and aesthetics, you can’t ignore the crazy stranger following you and keeps trying to ask you to marry him.

Most of his complaints are poorly worded but valid.
Public transportation here is shitty for a city this size.
The weather is really weird (I like it, but it’s weird.)
The homeless problem in SF is worse than normal for a city this size.
A small number of bikers here are super-aggro and violate traffic laws constantly.

Other than the “PMS” comments I’m not sure why this blew up so much.
Nothing he said is particularly offensive or insightful.

Who is comparing SF to NYC other than NYC toadies with massive insecurity issues? SF is not NYC. It never was and it never will be. Some prefer NYC. Others not so much. But keep pissing in the wind I suppose.

No wonder SanFran smells like urine it isn’t homeless people, its all the NYCers that are pissing in the wind. Why would we compare one big city with issues to another big city with issues. Once again logic wins!

Hey, leave Canada and Canadians alone. I’m an American, I love America, I wouldn’t live anywhere else, I’m so patriotic I make Steve Rogers look like Osama bin Laden. But Canada is a magnificent, beautiful, fun, dynamic country full of magnificent, beautiful, fun, dynamic people. Canada is 100% certified awesome.

Every time I read a post by someone who’s screaming that San Francisco is overrated, I first take note of their use of one of two diminutives, “San Fran” or “Frisco,” then I am left wondering who is doing the “rating” that has sent them into such a tizzy.

When you say, “San Francisco can’t even compare to New York City,” who is doing the comparing, and which aspects of each city are being compared?

If done by a resident, this whining is always performed best and most reliably by someone who’s lived in San Francisco for less than two years, is not taken seriously by anyone who’s actually made San Francisco their home, and – therefore – adopts the persona of “cranky, displaced New Yorker/New Jerseyan” until he or she finally learns enough about San Francisco not to embarrass themselves while trying to get from the Marina to the Mission or vice versa.

I’ve lived in NYC since ‘84. I came from Vermont to work in the arts. We used joke that if the city kept going like it was it would be nothing but a I playground for the rich. About 10 years ago That really happened and the soul of the city died. What made NYC great was the pressure cooker of so many values, priorities and styles. What killed it was the free market’s channel people into a unified way of thinking. It’s easier to promote growth if the market is unified in its values. The whole place became populated by those with simular ideas of what success is. You can see it on the streets of New York where every block is lined with Chipotle, Verizon, Duane Reade, BoA etc. Make diversity threatening and you have throngs running to the safety of the ffamiliar.we used to come to NY to conquer the great unknown in the belly of the beast now people are embraced in the comfort of the mall to put it in pop TV terms ‘We came to live in the world of “Taxi”, now people come to live in the world of “Sex in the City” ’. SF still has that vibrancy I miss from New York despite its incipient douchbagery. On the streets you can never let yourself get comfortable because, like a great piece of art, your comfort zone is always being challenged. I’d love to encourage SF to raise it’s fist in a rebel ’ s cry to preserve it’s uniqueness but having seen what happened to NYC I have little optimism.

“The closest thing I can think of to the narcissism that SF techies exude is the banking industry in NYC - and at least those people have something to back up their arrogance. Smartphone games (hello, Zynga) aren’t exactly making the world a better place.” And banking does? I promise you there are more companies in SF that are “making the world a better place” for everyone, not just the top 1%.

Bowser, Bowser, hey! LA has fewer homeless people? You are trippin’. New York and LA are number 1 and 2 in U.S. homeless populations. SF is number 4. But when you look at the per capita rate of homelessness, San Francisco is not even in the top 10. You know who is? Tampa, Seattle, New Orleans, LOSANGELES, FRESNO, Honolulu, Vegas, SANJOSE, STOCKTON, Springfield MA. Notice anything weird? Of all the California large metro areas, SF/Oakland is not on the list. Also, all but two are metro area with pleasant, lovely outdoor weather year round. I’m pretty sure the wonderful, loving, compassionate services they have in Chicago and New York are not curing their homeless problem. It’s the snow. Even if we were topping charts, simply saying ‘ew gross I hate poor mentally ill people’ doesn’t make Peter the Great Asshole’s assessment revelatory or spot on about anything.

Hard to even read the uninformed and idiotic complaints from Peter and equally stunning is Mr. Bowser’s reply.

Peter and Bowser clearly haven’t lived in New Orleans, Chicago, LA, Minneapolis, Seattle, San Diego, etc. or they wouldn’t disparage public transit here. I ride the N-Judah and complain about it all the time-and there is a lot to complain about. But I only have a 15 minute commute. And if there’s a problem with the N, which is often, I have only to haul my ass a couple blocks to get on a bus. It isn’t DC and isn’t NY, that’s for sure, but DC and NY are not sitting on a major fault line.

Homelessness policy here does need some attention for sure. This city wastes a tremendous amount of money on the symptoms and doesn’t work on the cause. That said, Peter and Bowser haven’t been to Skid Row or similar. And sorry Bowser, but if you lived in Chicago, DC, NYC and LA you would know better. You probably haven’t been to Skid Row, Alphabet City, or even spent a day in Washington Square Park in the Village. It’s part of American culture. It’s our problem and we have to embrace it. Do something about it.

Peter and Bowser (probably the same person) need to realize there is more to SF than China Basin and the Tenderloin. You don’t like trannys-go to north beach, the mission, marina, haight street, fisherman’s warf, soma, ….. That said, I’d actually suggest you be a little more open minded. There is great diversity in the Tenderloin and it’s wonderful.

Bowser does make a point about the smugness of some SFers. But the 5% he’s talking about are largely a transient, immediate post-school population who don’t really have a clue what makes this city and the bay area great-just like Peter and Bowser. But the 5% does bring something to the table and does add color-one of those things that does make it terrific to live here. I’m neither a techie or a hipster, but I am proud of the city, it’s diversity, and culture-though I have plenty of complaints as a property tax payer. And I actively particpate in trying to solve its problems because I am invested. I suggest you do the same.

Swedishfish - you’re probably in your 40’s or 50’s and lived in NYC in the 80’s or 90’s, right? because you clearly haven’t been to NYC in about a decade or longer. Alphabet City and Washington Sq Park are safe and clean and fine, especially compared to the Tenderloin. You will not find human poop on the sidewalk in NYC or see homeless people openly smoking meth on the sidewalk. Next you’re going to tell me to stay away from the Lower East Side and Williamsburg?

NYC is better than SF, but then again, NYC is better than a lot of places. The point is SF has some real issues. With some of the highest taxes in the nation, how can SF’s infrastructure suck so bad? Why does it attract so many crazy homeless people? Is it just the weather or did ill conceived government policies contribute, such as giving homeless a monthly cash stipend?

My only complaint is that Peter didn’t go into the skyrocketing rent and housing problem in SF, and the Bay Area in general, which creates other problems for people working in SF and the Bay Area. It forces you to endure long commutes if you can’t afford to live close to the city, and come up with ways to use a bike or other pedestrian transportation, because there’s probably no cheap parking if you DO drive in, which means taking the train, and wasting even more of your day. If you’re lucky, you can telecommute.

Ironic that SF/Bay Area tech promotes “mobile” yet 99% of the tech community want you sitting in that chair, right next to other people in a noisy Facebook-style sweatshop environment. This supposedly creates better teamwork, but I’m still on the fence on that one. I’m not sure how working in a cafeteria-style environment promotes more innovation than people sitting in quiet low-distraction rooms where they can focus on the work.

Seems like startups get the funding for the coders, and they the tax abatements in the city, but then forget that the rent is so ridiculous for this hideously ugly city of box-homes that don’t like trees, that they don’t factor in a really good salary for most of their staff. The salaries are commensurate with other outside geographies, but way too low in most cases for people to actually live and build a life in the Bay Area or SF–and actually be able to save money for a house. Renting is supposed to be a path, not the end of the journey. The end of the journey is to buy a home not rent. Remember that thing called the American Dream? Oh yeah… the house we’re going to buy? Sorry, can’t afford that, we’ll have to look elsewhere, and move out the area just to be able to buy a house.

BART has taken what 30 years or more to get “completed”, and still not complete enough for people south of Millbrae, where it dies on the west side, and finally, there is funding to get BART south to San Jose, but that’s another 5 years before that is complete. So you end up having to learn all the train schedules and fall into more time spent on commuting and in many cases train hopping from Caltrain to BART or visa versa. That 5-6pm commute on BART is priceless.

I’m totally with Peter on his observations, and ask the bigger question: Why is it necessary for everybody to be in SF to be a startup? Seems like you’d go there for the investment money, but do you really need to put your team in SF? Is that really good business sense? Aren’t we all supposed to be mobile now?

Do you need to plop down your “startup” in the expensive financial district for your own ego or is there some magical business plan that says find the highest cost city to build your business in and you’ll get rich. Don’t worry about the staff, they can take it or leave it.

IIRC, BART pushed to go through the Peninsula but San Mateo County blocked it. It took an act of God to get the trains to Daly City and, eventually, Colma. When the extension to Millbrae was in its planning stages, they wanted to push further south but Burlingame balked at the idea. Once again, this is from memory so I might be missing a few key points. In sum, BART’s lack of Peninsula access isn’t something to be blamed on BART.

Your transit statement is completely full of shit, plain and simple. LA transit is the worst in the country, its a MASSIVE land area with the worst traffic in the country and no viable subway system unless you have a very specific lifestyle that is all downtown: youre fucked. Seattle is similar. I can cycle to anywhere in SF in 1hour or much less (usual commute takes around 10-15min door to door) and BART in excellent for getting around the region. Compared to LA?? Laughable!

as someone who takes LA metro from west hollywood to up in the valley every day - i can say you’re a little wrong here.

for one, you can get pretty much anywhere in LA via bus and train. it’d be nice if there were a train from LAX - but, you know, flyaway isn’t so bad. but the LA trains stretch from the end of the orange line way up in canoga park all the way down the blue line to long beach. and with the expansions they’re working on, from as far east as sierra madre all the way to santa monica. sure, you may have to hop a bus somewhere, but even the busses aren’t so bad.

is LA metro awesome? no, not really. but it’s pretty adequate. and getting better. trying to compare LA metro to SF or chicago or NYC is kind of silly. none of those cities cover remotely as much land as LA does.

Apparently your glass is perpetually half empty. At least you’re not Peter, whose glass has nothing but a little stale urine in the bottom of it. Some of us choose to generally accentuate the positive, while trying to do a little to help with the more obvious bad aspects of life. Try it, you might like it!

Come to OMI and then tell me what all of San Francisco does or doesn’t do. urg.

Been here since 1979. Own a home. Pay taxes. Do volunteer work here in my OMI neighborhood. SF varies block-to-block: insisting it’s all one way or another is to exhibit the myopia of the short timer, and the ignorance of the inexperienced. IMHO of course.

Naturally this city has flaws, some straight-up crazy. That said, we use more bicycles and public transportation than most American cities. Surprised there’s a bit of small town-ness still left in the old girl? Read your Mark Twain and Bret Hart and get caught up.

THIZZZZ… No, but seriously, I have no interest in you or your negative opinion of SF. I don’t care about techy folk who move here and cram up my streets. I don’t care about SoCal fools in their visors and sandals. I don’t care about pretentious a**holes who think what they do is the most important thing in the world. I simply love my city. If you don’t like it, too bad. Move if you prefer.

More light shimmering off of the Bay and fog over my head for me. I love the energy of NYC, the spirit of Boston, or the originality of Austin, but SF is beautiful in its own right, whether you wanna believe it or not.

Ps. I don’t take Muni, and if this dude is such a boss (he got a couple of bucks from Y-Incubator after all), he shouldn’t have to deal with it either. I’m sorry if you’re not able to hook up with any so-called “4s,” but that’s cuz you’re a douche, not because they think they’re special. I do just fine. (Not that I’m Don Juan-ing on girls or anything…)

Has this supposedly brilliant mind, or you for that matter, offered any thoughtful solutions to the problems he’s so graciously pointed out with his newly adopted city? Of course not. There are those who see problems and offer ideas for solutions, and there are those who act like it is an affront to their well-organized lives to be confronted with those problems. Well that is urban living. You can bitch about things not being ordered to provide you maximum satisfaction or you can try to make things better for everyone around you in the city you call home. When you throw in his mean-spirited take on women who also aren’t living up to his hopes and expectations, and his impatience for San Francisco’s compassion for the homeless, it’s no wonder that most people in the city aren’t clamoring to her more about what he thinks is wrong with one of the best cities on the planet.

Bowser, Dude, right on! Could not be a bigger fanboy of what makes SF great. That said, ignoring the glaring and shameful homeless problem and the generally crummy Muni service is actually a huge disservice to The City I love. None of us wants a mirror held up too closely to our less than flattering features. Why not put our energies into dealing with them head on rather than lashing out. Sure, Peter won’t last a year here. His departure doesn’t fix the underlying problems.

Did it ever occur to you that the people telling him to GTFO agree that there are problems but that this guy is a douche either way and he should GTFO? But I’ll let you get back to working yourself into a frenzy over an ridiculous strawman you made up…

San Francisco does not have the worst public transit of any major city in America.

Houston, TX does, which is a far, far larger city. It has 6 miles of craptacular rail track.

You’re probably experiencing some ‘grass is greener’ syndrome. There are homeless people in every city. At least San Fran doesn’t have the murder and crime rates of Chicago, DC, and Detroit … so be thankful for that.

Ok, being a 3rd generation SF native and now a resident in the East Bay Hills for many years, I need to make a simple point to ‘what’s his face’.

There may seem to be more homeless in SF because there is so little room in that little City. 49 square miles, people.

You can walk or ride your bike, or take a taxi. Rent a car, instead of insisting that SF give up precious space for a parking lot. Again, 49 sq. miles. I have never had a problem finding parking over the last 45 years.

To compare, I live 15 miles from work. Graveyard shift.
If I took public transportation, it would take me 2.5 hours to go that distance, and first I’d have to walk to Hilltop Mall. Hmmm, 5 hours to round trip. Not in SF.

People are renting closets to live in. If that’s not for you, live farther from work like every one else.

The weather and the scenery around SF is the most beautiful, ever. I take Solano Ave. in Albany to go east to the I-80 and, at the crest of the hill there is the best view.
Bring a jacket. How is that hard to do. Or, freeze your ass off. My son, when he lived there (now in Oakland), wore shorts all year round. Or, put some fat on your bones…you will carry your own insulation with you :P

You will find beautiful women everywhere. Or, quit thinking you are god’s gift and make a better list of requirements, ones that actually mean something. Maybe
you are too ugly or arrogant to snag a real woman.

For a city this wealthy to have such squalor on public display at nearly every intersection is just wrong. I came here for a job - for which I am grateful - and am disappointed that the famed SF tolerance is not easygoing, kindly, or live-and-let-live. It is, “I’m going to be a pig because I can. Now let me take a dump right on the street and whiff pot in your face.” SF is a remarkable place… but it sure could use a dose of Midwestern good nature and problem solving.

And yes, the public transport really is just molecular-level awful. In most places the transport connects where people live and where they work.

I used to live in San Francisco and got the boot from the first wave of rich, self indulgent pre hipster gits during the dung heap of the first tech boom. (yeah ancient history). So let’s just say I have put my cards on table: a bunch of wealthy fucks who have no appreciation come to a city and drive up rents and real estate levels by insane levels, assisted of course by the rentier class of landlords.

So. Yes public transport could indeed be better, not awful but better. At least it exists, been to LA lately and tried RTD otherwise known as route to death? Homeless. Yep. Lots of homeless folks. Agreed big fucking issue and not enough is being done. Agreed on techies. Agreed solutions are needed.

But not from miserable unconscious, wealthy egotistical, unaware twits who have no concept. The best thing he could do is come here be shaken down for vast amounts of money in taxes to fund actual programs and get the boot from town. Yes sorry, redistribute his sorry ass. But frankly it is too late for SF these days, it is desperately trying trying to go back to Imperial San Francisco and it won’t work. It is an upper class playground where the poor are tolerated as local color.

“I could go on and on - but there’s no point. Instead of looking at the problems this city has - and coming up with thoughtful solutions - all these commentators want to do is smuggly (sic) dismiss the messenger as a passerby who will be ‘gone in a year’.”

You know the funny thing about your statement? Peter Shih didn’t actually do anything to contribute to solving the problems he himself mentioned, much less suggest “thoughtful solutions”. His post was snarky at best, transphobic and misogynistic at worst. Do you think people who have lived in SF for much longer than him do not complain about the homelessness (not the same as the homeless)? Or that the Muni system leaves a lot to be desired?

Of course we all do. But we don’t include offensive terms like 4s and 9s or “transvestites” (because for one, it’s not 1999 anymore) to describe women or transgender people. In the same way Peter shouldn’t be described a certain way just because of his Asian origins.

Then your head is so far up your own ass that the shit you speak is blocking your ears and blinding your eyes. Try having an original thought before recycling the words of someonelse. No we don’t need more people like him. Tech is not the savior of Sam Francisco, check your facts and find out the real revenue streams, its not Zynga nor twitter. Btw if you live here there is no one holding a gun to your head ( most people here don’t believe in them) kindly move and don’t let the homeless stench hit you in the ass as you go.

I agree with Peter and this responder. I moved here from Chicago, which is not my native city, but I lived there for years
and was really amazed at how dirty and poorly run S.F. is, after living there. Everyplace I worked here seemed incompetently run. The people seem entitled and lazy with no work ethic. I thought I would love this city, but have found myself really disliking it and the people here in general. I felt much safer in Chicago than I do here. I think the people there are more human.
Anyway, don’t want to ramble on, but I agree with this article. San Fran is “the pits”/

s.f. hasn’t been a major city for over a century, but BART and Muni combined serve better than the bus system does in L.A., which is. Crawl out of peter’s ass and smell the coffee. T
the geek squad techies are the irritating cucharachas here now, but they are only the latest propectors raising the rent and running down and killing pedestrians who cross against the light without looking first.

I agree with Bowser & Peter. And for those of you who live in the rose-colored utopia you believe SF to be & want to tell me to go home, I was born & raised in the Bay Area & have lived in this sh!tty for 13 years. I only stay because I work here & would rather not commute.

Don’t know where to begin, but for a starter this city has the most incredible advantages in more ways than you Fucking Tecky Nerds can ever imagine, who come to this City,with no understanding of Multi Culturalism - People of all races, with their Cuisine, Celebrations, Contributions, etc…. this city is the most popular Destinations in the world, with Tourism that is well above Millions per year, so they are all
wrong to come here, because U the Fucking Moron, Ignorant A-hole who has no Concept of Life, except Drinking Ur Overpriced Fucking
Mocca, from the StarFucked Cafe, doing Ur Shopping @ the Slave Labored Stores - Gap, Old Navy, etc… - decides the other aspects of the
Cosmopolitan Life style does not Suit your Fucking self-centered ignorant A-hole purposes, well guess what, pack up your shit, move out
go to whatever Fucking Sterilized Shit hole U came from, be a Robot, a Colon buy & do things like everybody else does, be a good Cosnumer
A-hole, and shut your Fucking Pie Hole. You Un great full Fucking A-hole.PS. I was going write more, Ur lucky I am hungry

People that hate MUNI need to remember one thing, that being that it is not the employees fault they operate a roving mental institution. You are wrong when you say that statistically it is the worst. According to NTDA statistics, they carry the most passengers per revenue mile in the US. They pack the people in. 49 square miles with 750,000 separate trips per day, and they’ve been doing it for decades. Those people that work at MUNI would love to provide more frequent buses and trains, but the City takes their revenue to pay for other services in town(think Care not Cash or tax breaks for Twitter). They do this by charging the SFMTA for a myriad of things so that it ends up in the general fund. Oh, and I have lived in two of the places you listed and they weren’t demonstrably better, they just didn’t have a cult-like hate following like Muni does. And I do not work for Muni either.

The guy is right. Ive lived here almost 20 years now and every year is worse and worse. The homeless here are a serious issue. Im not saying that in a “omg becky that guys digging through garbage” kinda way, Im saying it in a “oh man this is all fucked up” kinda way. The cost of living here is impossible. People here are pretentious assholes. Local government filled with dbags on the take. Dating scene sucks. Traffic and parking are shit. Nightlife is bad. Totally smells like piss. Anyone that claims this is all made up is brain damaged. SF isnt a real place to live.

I absolutely agree. Peter is RIGHTONTHEMONEY! I’ve lived in SF, NYC, and LA, and All I can say is, go watch the South Park episode entitled, “Smug Alert” if you want to know everything you need to know about San Franciscans. Bunch of douchebags.

Thank you Bowser for shining some light within this dismal comment hole, filled with predictable knee-jerk responses.
Spot on;
a large % of people I’ve spoken with, lived with, worked with, etc don’t know how to take criticism and therefore miss an opportunity for improvement. The evidence? Many of the things on the list are evidence. Let’s work to fix this

I’m about a year new to the area and I agree that this city is arrogant and is currently displaced beyond fixing. The home growns and the newly arrived tech Dbags are all the same…entitled shortsighted fools. For 90% of you who grew up here…MOVE AWAY, go on a vacation, take a trip across the Bat Bridge, LEAVE for once. My God, these people who can’t stop talking about “The City” and how great this place is because they know nothing else. It blows my mind how many of these snobs have never left “The City” in their entire lives, yet have the audacity to judge you if you don’t think San Francisco is that great. The greatest day of the year was when the 49ers got their asses handed to them by Seattle; it was an echo of a realization wave across the Bay Area that maybe…just maybe their arrogance was misplaced. Thank God for that.

As for the tech culture and the many, many Dbags with their smart phones and their apps and their embarrassingly put together collage of first time business clothes…call your moms and have them teach you some style and some manners. You do not run the city, you do not impress women with your money, you do not know how to drink in public and you certainly do not help the situation here in SF.

Sure I hate both sides of this mess but most of all I hate the onlookers who let their city change without a fight…you’re pathetic. If you love this place so much do something about the changes, get involved. Us visitors are laughing at you all, get it together people.

People in this town need to get over themselves. One can never get a criticism out because low and behold, instead of looking at it in a constructive way and asking much needed questions to see what they can do to help, they prefer to talk smalk about those who dare point out the obvious.

It’s so nice to see that someone is not afraid to speak the truth about San Fran wacko! This city is a miserable place for all but the most degenerate, filthy, entitled, obnoxious and drug addicted people who don’t have any interest in making their environment a better place. I have lived in NYC, Boston and Chicago and while none of them are perfect (no place is) they are each and all remarkably more interesting, livable, desirable and just better places to actually live, than is San Francisco. I have never encountered more ridiculously idealistic, selfish, arrogant and phony people than I have in this supposed Nirvana. San Francisco has a huge inferiority complex because, like it or not, it has all of the problems of a big city and vary few real urban benefits. San Francisco claims to be a place that provides shelter for all, yet cares not a bit for those residents who actually foot the bill for most of the others who are too lazy and or strung out to work and contribute. San Francisco needs a NYC or Chicago style mayor to get tough, clean up this sewer of a city and restore rights to those who workfare to contribute. The inmates run the prison here and soon there will be only inmates and guards. All of those who realize that life really is nicer when you’re not walking through human feces, stepping over junkies or watching self entitled cyclists run red lights and spit on the drivers whose license fees pay for the very roads they are too entitled to share with the cars they were built for, are rapidly coming to the conclusion that life in San Fran wacko is plain and simply not worth putting up with all the ridiculousness it takes to live here.

I guess the the next earthquake will take care of much of this wasteland. I hope the decent people will get out in time

Love Peter S. for not being afraid to tell the truth!! He spoke the truth on all points. Bowser, thanks to you too. Poor Kevin Montgomery and his attempts at humor failed miserably. I’ve read the other comments and the hostile attitudes of SF residents. Just the type of child-like temper tantrums I experienced during my stay in SF. I couldn’t believe that the beautiful downtown area was the scariest part of our stay. I was chased down the street by a homeless person. While dining at a posh eatery, a homeless person pooped in front of the window. Poop littered the streets always, women didn’t wear make-up, men were hairy and pale, no one dressed up. The drivers were scary and bikers were so very rude. I could go on, but why?

I wish I could have hypnosis to forget I ever lived there. It was just terrible. My spouse at the time was a physician in the SF area. He felt awful that he moved us to this place that on paper looked like paradise. In reality, one of the scariest towns, (not a real city), we’ve ever visited. Glad to have moved to the safety of NYC.

Now nail this…the dirtbag, that is, in the nuts, and then we’ll see who PM-es all the time. You wanna here this asswipe really complain? Put a couple of nails between his legs to let out the combustion in his balls. He won’t be complaining about SF then. I CALLFOR A PUBLICNAILING…WHOSEWITME?

I totally agree. I moved from San Francisco to Idaho in 1992, for many of the same reasons described. I worked as a professional in the
financial district, and had an apartment in Pacific Heights. When I moved to SF in 1964, it was a beautiful, clean city, where women shopped in Union Square wearing white gloves and hats! When I left San Francisco, I was disgusted with the smell of urine on the
sidewalks, the dirt, the homeless people, and the wind that blew in every afternoon, blowing soot and dirt from the streets into my face.
Also, the superior attitude of the “upper class” in SF is silly and annoying. There are plenty of very wealthy folks living in Idaho,
especially in Sun Valley, but they never flaunt their wealth, or act superior. We also don’t have the insane drivers on crowded
freeways. That being said, I still think SF is in one of the most beautiful bays I have seen in the world, ranking up there with
the Sydney Harbor, Hong Kong’s spectacular harbor, and Cape Town in South Africa.

I just moved from SF to LA. I cant imagine ever going back to live in SF. That guy nailed it. Great to visit for a day or 2 get some great food which LA cannot offer other then Mexican. He missed point # 11, all the unattractive people. Its a sea of 4’s and 5’s especially the women.

Peter also forgot to mention that this is feces City. everywhere you go you see mostly dog feces (don’t count out human) smeared on the sidewalks from being trampled and dragged by unsuspecting walkers face-planted in their smartphones. also here’s something i’ve noticed lately; dog owners are picking up after their dogs and leaving the same plastic bagged dogdoo right in the exact spot they picked it up from. yes, no mistake- right in the middle of the sidewalk! now can’t say if this is solely a SF thing though, because i haven’t left the City in eons.

Oh my…..this is hilarious. Somebody obviously loves their city a bit too much and is having a temper tantrum. *GOODMORNINGEVERYONE!* People are entitled to have an opinion. Even if you don’t agree. And if you don’t agree, don’t complain…do something!
Allow me to shed some light:

1) PUBLICTRANSPORTATION - It sucks. Don’t deny it…just accept it as a fact. Public transportation in the entire state of California is sub-par, to say the least. Compared to the rest of the world, it is downright pathetic. Don’t try to defend it, you just look like an idiot. I know I don’t have the answers….hopefully somebody out there does.

3) WEATHER - The fallacy here is so obvious, it is actually painful to have to type it out: don’t get mad at Peter, get mad at global warming. Apparently San Francisco is not as “Eco-friendly” or “Eco-aware” as previously thought. Hmmmm…..

5) THE49ERS - Guess what??! They do exist! They are annoying as fck! And they are an embarrassment to REAL women everywhere. There is a huge difference between being an assertive, confident, intelligent woman and a self absorbed, conceited b*tch. I’ve seen it too many times: instead of having some class and polietly turning down a drink or invitation, a lot of women choose to be snotty and rude and act like they are God’s gift to the world. It’s embarrassing to witness. BTW, the only difference between 49ers in LA vs 49ers in SF is that in LA, they hide behind a veil of plastic surgery instead of a veil of moral and ethical superiority.

6) HOMELESSNESS - Golly. gee-whiz! Homeless people like to live in cities/states where they don’t have to deal with snow??! An overwhelming percentage of the homeless are mentally ill and possibly aggressive and/or have addiction problems? What right does anyone have to be annoyed that they are asked for money everytime they leave the house?? Why do people prefer to point fingers instead of actually being proactive and addressing the problem? Once again, I’d like to say *GOODMORNINGEVERYONE!!!* Wake up. Quit complaining. Do something. Make a difference. Snotty comments don’t count. I know what I am doing, what about you?

8) NIGHTLIFE - Seriously? This is a point of contention? Ummm…yeah…the 2am cut-off time sucks. It’s stupid. It just puts a bunch of drunk people on the road between 1am-3am. Anywhere that has a last call before 2am has a shitty nightlife. That means every city in California. That’s why, only a short few hours drive away, we have Vegas. Thank you, Nevada.

10) BICYCLISTS - I totally agree: more people should be riding bikes instead of driving cars…HOWEVER…bikes are not cars. Stop acting like you are and get out of the fcking way. If you have a problem with that, get together with the Public Transpo people and come up with a solution to the obvious problem(s).

If more people DIDSOMETHINGPOSITIVE instead of attacking people online, we would have a lot less to comment about. I know what I’m doing…what about you?

Spot on with #5. While there are plenty of cool women in S.F., it’s generally inundated with a wave of sorority princesses who flood in thinking that they’ve taken over. Hold the door for one of them at the office building - no response. Accidentally glance in their direction, they assume you are gawking at their superiority. They are children. This is what an unfavorable M-to-F ratio does.
It should be pointed out the NYC has the opposite situation and I’m sure it gives rise to an army of male jerks. But by and large, the women in NYC are more confident, hip and open than in S.F. where it seems the princesses are all about conforming (black leather jacket, dyed blond, ponytail + attitude.) .

in my professional opinion as an analtherapist, Peter suffers from the very common “Angry Asian Man Syndrome”, he walks down the street and sees hot asian women with slobby white men all the time, never does he see an Asian man with any non-Asian woman. This is compounded by his obvious “Tranny Fear Frenzy”….both times when an Asian woman has shown some interest in Peter, (s)he has turned out to be not quite what Peter expected

Some things peter will not change.
Donate money to help the homeless.
Some thing peter cannot change
Being a 49er himself
4 inch dick and the attitude of man with a nine inch dick.
Some thing that will change for Peter
His stupid company will tank.
Some peter needs
A good bitch slap
Some thing peter wants
To be bent over and pounded up the ass

As the song goes “If one makes it in NYC, they’ll make it anywhere”. Likely true that. Also true is if one cannot make it anywhere else, they likely will ” make it” in San Francisco. The standards are low and most of the real competition lives elsewhere, seeing no real feat in climbing to the top of a hill that’s really a shit pile.

Ah you must be one of those bicyclists he was talking about. Question. Why do you guys dress up like you’re in the GD Tour de France all the time? Are you actually sponsored or do you just think it looks cool? Also, you guys are very annoying. If you want to share the road then follow the laws as well please.

cyclists shoud be made to wear oversized identifiers so that theybcan be reported and penalized for abusing the roadways and ignoring traffic signals and conditions….just like what happens to everyone else who uses the streets

I’ve got some advice for you: It’s cool that you have a very fulfilling job and love what you do, really bro, I mean it. But please try and talk about something other than what’s on TechCrunch when in a social situation, especially when there are ladies present. There is more to life than who raised money from who and which startup got acquired by Google.

I mean, I agree that it’s best to have more than one interest in life, and that conversation skills are important. But what’s the deal with the overt sexism?

Weather is like a woman who is constantly PMSing? What the fuck does that even mean? This guy Peter Shih has some serious problems with women, let alone with the weather. Move to Walnut Creek, Peter, I hear they have no homeless and tons of sun.

But there is literally a Transvestite to Taxi ratio chart, which is exciting news. A literal chart! That the results are literally off of! So apparently they couldn’t just redesign the chart to show higher results.

He’s quite right about a few things and thank God for them. If San Francisco, and my current living locale Oakland, didn’t have some seriously and seemingly intractable issues we’d be even more overrun by monumental wounds such as our buddy Peter.

He’s a misogynist bro idiot who hasn’t made shit, and won’t make shit, here or anywhere else. Sounds like he’s struggling here (especially with women???) and instead of looking at why (hint: it’s him) he’s blaming it on externalities.

1. Little dick. It’s not that I demand a guy have a big, fat, penis to be considered worthwhile or sexy or fun. It’s just that Peter acts like he’s got a dick someone might pay attention to and lets be honest - its all balls and no shaft. Nice try! That package you sport looks impressive but I can tell you cry your eyes out every time you pleasure yourself.

I know Peter. He’s a really great guy. Very humble and mild-mannered. Does anyone actually disagree with the points he raises? Let’s be honest, public transportation does suck in SF. There is a really awful homeless problem – I think everyone can agree with that, even if you might disagree about the solution. It does kind of suck that it’s 50 degrees in July here….

If you know Peter, they it seems Peter would be happier somewhere else…not here. And if you don’t like it, you can also leave. Especially if you don’t like the weather. LA has wonderful weather, better looking people, and has a large percentage of douche bags like yourself and Peter. I know, the douche bags don’t really promote it, but, like Peter, they’re pretty mild-mannered and humble too.

Ya, ya- he makes some good points. Our public transportation system is a joke. We do have a homelessness problem, but we also have a handful of wonderful organizations trying to do some good. (Raphael House, for example.)

And as far as the weather is concerned: NEWSFLASH! We all know that July= Winter in SF. Any idiot with half a brain can research SF weather prior to moving! (I think there’s about a billion apps for this…Hey Peter- maybe you can get some funding to build another one?) If this is really an issue, move down the damn peninsula! No one FORCED him to live within the city.

SF weather is famous, and notorious, and has been since people moved here. Hell, what’s the Mark Twain quote? The coldest winter I ever spent is summer in San Francisco. He didn’t even have to research, hahahaha!

Herb Caen addressed it once. He said words to the effect of: “Yes, we know Mark Twain didn’t say “The coldest winter he ever spent was summer in San Francisco.” but I think we can all agree that if he had thought of it, he would have.”

I agree but it’s like telling people that they’re mispronouncing ‘Kearny Street’ since the person it is named after, Gen. Stephen Watts Kearny, (and many old time SF‘ans) pronounced it ‘Carney.’, they have no interest in letting facts get in the way of a common belief.

Herb Caen addressed it once. He said words to the effect of: “Yes, we know Mark Twain didn’t say “The coldest winter he ever spent was summer in San Francisco.” but I think we can all agree that if he had thought of it, he would have.”

I agree but it’s like telling people that they’re mispronouncing ‘Kearny Street’ since the person it is named after, Gen. Stephen Watts Kearny, (and many old time SF‘ans) pronounced it ‘Carney.’, they have no interest in letting facts get in the way of a common belief.

It’s quite obvious why: San Francisco really is fucking cold as balls. Anyone who’s been to SF knows this. Whether Mark Twain actually said it is hardly relevant. What’s odd is that visitors from outside CA come to the Bay Area expecting it to be warm and sunny when the truth is, only the southern half of the state has perpetually warm, mild weather.

Simply put Parker, it’s sad but you’re not going to convince anyone here that Peter is a good guy. Personally I agree with every point he made. I’ve been in and out of SF my entire life and the last few years have been nothing but miserable. People in SF simply don’t want to recognize that their city is a shithole and there’s some deep rooted issues with it. I got the hell out and am much happier for it and (surprise surprise) I’ve been much more successful because of it. Silicon Beach has been the trend in SoCal and it’s nicer down here. Nicer people. Nicer weather. Surprisingly more convenient to get around (cars are still king though).

Don’t let Kevin (who is an asshat in my opinion who can’t formulate a decent counter-argument other then “Oh look, this Peter guy thinks he’s better then us for pointing out things that many others have pointed out in the past! What a douchebag for not liking something I like because.. we’re cool right guys? Here in SF? Making fun of people who don’t like our city? Right guys? Right?”) make you feel alienated. Which btw is one of my biggest pet peeves about SF. For a city of “outsiders” it really knows how to make you feel not welcome.

SF has plenty of problems, most related to a slavish devotion to the NIMBY types and the professional complainer class, and inaction to tackle problems due to political corruption.

The problem is that when you have people who just recycle shrill bullshit, it’s just as bad as the problems they decry. Plenty of people here would like a better city, and it’s not impossible. The problem is that most people choose to put up with it despite their high home prices .etc.

Make a Difference Instead of Making Fun | August 16th, 2013 @ 7:54am[Permalink]

I agree that there is a bad homeless situation in the city, but the assumption that every single homeless person is an addict is just not true. There are many people who are on the street because they lost their home, were trying to escape abusive situations, etc. And honestly, the addicts and mentally ill need more compassion than was given in that post.

Maybe it would be best that he do something like donate time and money to places that offer care to the homeless and try to get them the help they need…?

Not to mention the vast majority of homeless are gay youth that were kicked out of their homes with no place to go. As bad as SF can be, this city offers far more “community” services than most other large cities. There is also a sense of community, if you don’t see it or feel it, that says a whole lot more about you and who you are than San Francisco. The majority of us that live here and aren’t mega millionaires, we actually participate in our communities. What have you detractors done? If you are “paid techie” and gave up on SF, again that says more about you and your priorities…

I 100% disagree with you Parker. Great guys don’t objectify women. Great guys don’t piss on their city without knowing it’s history. Great guys don’t threaten to clothesline people. Great guys don’t treat people as garbage. Great guys aren’t entitled assholes.

SF is a 7x7 square. public transport in manhattan is older and easier due to the shape of the island. I’ve been using public transport for 15 years and it’s wonderful and gets me from point a to point b quickly. It’s not teleporting, but it works. SF was never supposed to be a city with so many demands on the public transport system and for where it is right now, it’s pretty great. You should get your cronies together and fund a new transport system because last I checked, the state was broke.

the homeless problem is a state problem and our problem. Learn some civic history. The government has been slashing funding for mental institutions for the past 20 years (or more) and those mentally ill patients are often times just left on the street with no family to take them in. Have a little compassion and use your whining to find a solution and help people instead of helping yourself.

The weather in SF is the best. It’s a matter of opinion. I’d rather have a consistent 50-70 degree spread vs living in the midwest where it gets sweaty hot and freezing cold. If you don’t like the weather, leave.

Look, I work in tech. I also have been involved in underground art and music since I was probably 13 years old. So I get the dichotomy that you see but I don’t understand your ignorance. The reality is that many young tech people are entitled assholes that don’t know shit about the world, the two of you included. You dream of SF as your utopia, but your utopia doesn’t include people that are not like you. Before you fucks all showed up, there was independent music in SF, art in SF, rents were affordable, alcohol was affordable, food was the best and cheaper, etc, etc. For the past 12 years, music in SF has sucked - it’s changing again now with bands like Thee Oh Sees, Kelley Stoltz, Fresh & Onlys, and other kids that are making it work despite not being able to afford to live in the city.

Since women are ours to own, treat as objects, and do whatever we’d like with them, i see your point about 49ers. See what I did there?

I live in San Fran as well and Peter has some good points … I’ve complained about pretty much every point as well. Public transportation is actually a big pain point in the Bay Area. Night life does end too early if you’re looking to stay out all night. Fucking parking… goddamn parking is a fucking moneymaking shitshow for the SFMTA. And the rent is skyrocketing out of control due to the tech sector.

Ya’ll are acting a overly defensive – you probably complain about the same shit every day and now you’re somehow acting all holier-than-thou … because ?

I have lived in SANFRAN since 1984, which I’m pretty sure qualifies me as local. And let me say, on record, that many locals call it San Fran- I feel like this “no one local calls the city San Fran or SF” rumor has been fabricated by the same people who made up the “Richard Gere-gerbil” story. Such bullshit, and to everyone who keeps harping on this inaccurate, but more importantly insignificant point, you sound stupid and pathetic.

“Great guys” don’t place women into numbered brackets based on how physically attractive they are, and then complain about the nerve of women lower on said brackets to feel like they still have some value and ability to choose the people they show attention to.

He has some valid points on the abstract (yes, getting around here sucks) - it’s his helpful descriptive text that exposes him as a douche.

Good piece, guy is clearly a bag, etc. etc. ONE of his points, however, shouldn’t be trashed: if the night life here has to close down at 2, it’s pretty pathetic to close BART down at midnight seven days a week (well, that’s when the last trains leave the endstations, making the last trains 12:30ish).

Not to digress, but I actually got very involved in this back when I lived in the east bay, to the point where I was engaging in discussion about it with BART’s board members. Even just on Fri. and Sat. nights, trains until 2am would be huge. But BART has a whole list of reasons why they can’t do it (which I think are mostly BS), the biggest one being that because we only have one set of tracks in each direction, they can ONLY do maintenance when the trains are offline, so they need ALL of those down hours for maintenance. There are a host of other excuses as well. My point is just that this has been discussed for decades and unfortunately, isn’t likely to change any time soon.

Everyone agrees about the public transportation, startup guys (like Peter), and cost of living. Not all of us agree about the parking. There SHOULDN’T be a lot of parking in SF, just really great public transportation. Too bad we fell down on the latter part. A lot of us LOVE the weather: never too hot, never too cold. The bicyclists have the right of it: there should be safe, separated bike lanes, and until there are, bicyclists are going to get in the way of carbon-bad traffic (although I don’t like them endangering pedestrians.) Deal with it. We all agree that HOMELESSNESS is a huge problem – not that HOMELESSPEOPLE are the problem. The city’s lack of services and affordable housing are the problem, not the folks who suffer by it. And where exactly are they SUPPOSED to shit, when they don’t have a toilet in their nonexistent home?

And finally, dude? As so many others have pointed out, Peter is a very obvious misogynist. His whole post drips with it. Calling out women for behaving as if they have a right to decide whom they want to talk/sleep with, regardless of their “level” of attractiveness? Seriously? And what kind of douche actually grades women on their looks? What century are you living in?

I live in Tokyo, so it’s easy to say that it’s better on almost all of these points than SF.

The few things I would prefer about SF are the weather (Tokyo’s too hot in the summer), and the tech / startup scene. And intellect.

But he’s completely right about women. You are not a misogynist just because you point out that there is a huge male to female ratio, and that most women there seem overly self-important for their looks, and don’t particularly take care of themselves compared to other cities. Women in Tokyo are always in heels, always in nice skirts and dresses, keep their figures, etc. Do you see that in SF? Nope. Not much. It may seem a bit formal, but it’s better than being sloppy and gaining lots of weight. If you spent time in Paris or Tokyo, you would readily admit that women in those cities are more concerned about their figures and have a more realistic appraisal of their attractiveness to men…

Newsflash, men are attracted to women based on their attractiveness! But he wasn’t even criticizing them for _being_ unattractive, just for acting haughty and self-important when they are not that attractive.

As for homeless people, he is also correct. And HOMELESSPEOPLE are the problem. There are some homeless people in Tokyo and you know how they live? Pretty neatly. They don’t lay on the street like that guy in the photo. No way. They live in out-of-the-way areas and live pretty neatly. The cops actually prevent them from getting in people’s way and keep them out of upscale buildings or nice areas. They aren’t allowed to mess with people on the street or tourists. That may seem tough, but the fact is that nobody wants homeless people messing with them day-to-day. There are ways to help them without allowing them to lie in the middle of the sidewalk and stink up nice areas. The cops could escort them to a shelter or public bathing facilities, etc. If they can’t afford to be there, they should be taken somewhere else. The government should be on top of the problem, through a combination of services and firm enforcement.

The fact is that other cities are often nicer because they don’t allow things to deteriorate in the name of non-judgmentalism…

You realize it goes both ways, right? Why should I bother with high heels and manicures for a bunch of self-important dudes dressed in jeans and hoodies? What, exactly, am I making that effort for? Oh, so you can find me more attractive, which as a woman should clearly be my highest priority? Fuck you.

You’re being overly defensive and it shows. Go to NY, LA, Tokyo, Moscow, London, or any other major city. It’s not just women who appear to look nicer, it’s also the men. There’s a much more level playing field in the dating scene and opportunity to “meet the one”. It’s not all about hook ups and one-nighters, it’s also about taking care of yourself. The 49er point was actually spot on and not just restricted to SF alone, it’s pretty big in a lot of areas.

Male sexual value is not based on physical attractiveness. Female sexual value is. This has been true since the dawn of mankind, and it’s not going to suddenly become false because a bunch of smug liberal know-it-alls decree that “humanity has changed”.

The thing is that I’m not particularly concerned with my sexual value, so I don’t really give a shit if you find me less attractive than “women of Paris.” I’m busy making more money than my boyfriend, and being valued for my skills rather than appearance.

“…most women there seem overly self-important for their looks, and don’t particularly take care of themselves compared to other cities. Women in Tokyo are always in heels, always in nice skirts and dresses, keep their figures, etc.”

I don’t even know where to start. How about I just slam my dirty toenails and birkenstocks just about as far up your ass as they’ll go? Oh wait I forgot for a sec. I’m a nonviolent hippy chick with a weight problem (as opposed to one of those limber ones who do yoga all the time) - AND A BRAIN, with actual THOUGHTS in it. Asshole. My realistic appraisal of my attractiveness is not an equation that includes you. Get over it.

“women there seem overly self-important for their looks, and don’t particularly take care of themselves compared to other cities. Women in Tokyo are always in heels, always in nice skirts and dresses, keep their figures, etc. Do you see that in SF? Nope.”

Because, ofcourse the highest station a woman can hope to achieve is to be looked favorably upon by others right? Who cares about advancing science, humanity or society in general when you’re hot, right? This makes sense coming from a nation that condoned forces prostitution (comfort women) and honors rapists and war criminals (yakisuni) and still has a child prostitution problem.

“HOMELESSPEOPLE are the problem” “If they can’t afford to be there, they should be taken somewhere else.”

SF has some of the best benefits for homeless people, thats why small towns all over America bus them here. Its not something we are ashamed of, its basic humanity. Take care of the people who can’t take care of themselves. Just look up San Francisco, the acutal person, not the city, and you might understand. Or maybe not, based on Japans history I’d say you guys are just as likely to set them on fire (rape of nanking), (bataan death march) as help anyone.

Yes, but SF women act that way because they can. The laws of supply and demand dictate that in SF, since women have their pick of a bunch of nice, sensitive, rich guys, they have no incentive to act reasonably.

If a woman here acts like a bitch, what am I gonna do? She’s probably the only game in town.

Maybe, just maybe, some women dress to please themselves and they’re lives don’t revolve around attracting a man. Could it be that women in SF have good jobs, many interests, friends, and family to spend time thinking about? God forbid we don’t wear heels and skirts and keep our figures perfectly slim so that we can attain the holy grail of earthly existence….to attract you, sir.

Maybe women in SF don’t need to be generalized as “women in SF” and maybe some women, due to their personal experiences and preferences would rather or rather not wear heels. Whaat. Maybe some women have bad backs and can’t wear heels. Maybe some women would rather wear heels because they love heels. Maybe some women just do what they feel like and can care less what your delusional idea of attractive is. What a shocker. Why is it so offensive that some women don’t want wear heels? You can’t say he’s “right about women in SF”. Why is that even a category? Are there no like women in other cities? Are there no like people? Do women not count as a person that they must be separated from people category a whole? Some women are jerks, and some guys are jerks. Hey, people can be jerks. What a surprise. Let’s not move backwards when we’ve come so far.

Maybe women in SF don’t need to be generalized as “women in SF” and maybe some women, due to their personal experiences and preferences would rather or rather not wear heels. Whaat. Maybe some women have bad backs and can’t wear heels. Maybe some women would rather wear heels because they love heels. Maybe some women just do what they feel like and can care less what your delusional idea of attractive is. What a shocker. Why is it so offensive that some women don’t want wear heels? You can’t say he’s “right about women in SF”. Why is that even a category? Are there no like women in other cities? Are there no like people? Do women not count as a person that they must be separated from people category a whole? Some women are jerks, and some guys are jerks. Hey, people can be jerks. What a surprise. Let’s not move backwards when we’ve come so far.

“Do you see that in SF? Nope. Not much. It may seem a bit formal, but it’s better than being sloppy and gaining lots of weight. If you spent time in Paris or Tokyo, you would readily admit that women in those cities are more concerned about their figures and have a more realistic appraisal of their attractiveness to men…

Newsflash, men are attracted to women based on their attractiveness! But he wasn’t even criticizing them for _being_ unattractive, just for acting haughty and self-important when they are not that attractive.”

Yes, because as a woman it is my job to ensure that every random man finds me attractive!

Do you hold these same standards for yourself or for other men? Do you think about every ounce of food that goes into your mouth? Do you work out 4-5 times a week to make sure that you will fit into an idealized sample size of clothing? Do you spend hundreds of dollars a month on waxing, make up, getting your hair cut and colored, having clothes that fit into the latest fashion? Do you or your male friends get up in the morning and think to yourself as you get dressed, “Hmm, I wonder if every woman walking down the street is going to want to FUCK me if I wear this?”

Do you think those things? I bet you don’t. So why should any woman put that much mental energy, money, and emotional wear and tear into ourselves and our daily lives? What the fuck is wrong with you that you think that a woman’s beauty is something that is OWED to you? NOWOMANOWESYOUANYTHING.

If you’re wondering why women don’t want to sleep with you, it’s because you assume that our sole purpose in life is as your eye or arm candy. I hope the women of the world reject you constantly and for the rest of your life, in Tokyo or in Paris.

Peter, hate to break it to you… this city doesn’t exist to please you. Women don’t exist to please you. Sounds like someone’s shart-up isn’t doing so well, and someone hasn’t gotten laid in a while because he’s an overly-judgemental, abrasive, unattractive douchenozzle.
You are a pathetic, chubby, sexist prick, and you can leave.

I’ve lived in SF for around 15 years. Personally, Peter doesn’t sound like the kind of guy that I’d like to hang with but that’s fine. The City’s capacity for diversity and tolerance is what a lot of us like about it. That includes being tolerant of tech folks and startup founders who say arrogant, immature stuff BTW. Your very personal hatchet job of his bitch list was snide and nonconstructive. The points his post raises about public transit, homelessness, and bicyclists are very real quality of life issues for anyone who lives and works here.

First, the word either is used when talking about 2 things, not an entire string of things (e.g. cities). Second, I took a peek at Peter’s Twitter pic and he is the last person who should be talking about 4s vs 9s.. Finally, satire should be funny. It can also be edgy, but Peter’s writing is just mean-spirited and reflects a clear disdain for women and people who don’t have as much money as him.

If you’re going to reuse his entire text as well as the image the author put with it, you might as well at least link to his original post. If you’re going to be above him, at least do him that courtesy.

He didn’t even have the balls to keep it unedited… along with the new Douche Disclaimer he also edited out some of the finer points you all pointed out above. Doesn’t he know how this internet thingy works, with screen caps and all?

Check your pits before leaving the house | August 15th, 2013 @ 4:00pm[Permalink]

Whew! Since everything wrong with San Francisco is also wrong with Boston, I’m happy to know I won’t have to deal with Peter in MY 40 sq. miles of city anytime soon. Try a 20 degree swing in temperature from 39 to 19 degrees, Peter. Stay out of Boston, if you know what’s good for you!

sure he has some points, but he hasn’t thought them through very well. Yeah, PubTrans sucks here, but you can be in almost any kind of natural beauty (mountains, forest, ocean, desert) in an easy drive. Some of the best food on the planet. Summer weather dreary, but every native knows that “summer” isn’t OUR summer…that comes in Sept, Oct. Nov, and when he’d be shoveling snow in NYC, we’re at the beach, cuz winter is one of the best times for that sh*t. It’s a small, compact city, with an amazing array of art & culture on a per capita basis. Sure it closes down a little early, tant pis. Makes you appreciate it all the more. And our gals aren’t as tarted up as in some places, which probably makes Peter think they’re not “beautiful” or “hot” like the plastic surgery mavens of some of the other places he mentions - hell, he probably wouldn’t even know he was dating a transexual person, because he wants his femininity so…obvious. Our gals are smart & savvy, though, probably a little too challenging for Pete. All that said, I go back a couple of generations, and I’m more than happy to have anyone who doesn’t like it here leave. That way, they won’t keep destroying “my” city, trying to make it more like other places I don’t want to live.

The arrogance, self-aggrandizement, and self-centeredness is just breath-taking. But I guess that’s the purpose of Medium - to make the small seem large, the unimportant seem important, the vapid seem, well, less vapid in the context of their peers.

Not to make much ado but, I might respond:

Public Transit - There’s a bus across the street from my house. I can get on that bus and be anywhere in San Francisco in less than ninety minutes with fewer than four transfers. It may be slow but you’ll be dropped off within a block and a half of your destination. I can get on that bus, transfer a time or two and be at an Indian Casino in three hours, Lake Tahoe in six, Yosemite in eight, and LA in twelve and all for less than a hundred bucks. In Manhattan, one can take a train/bus to many towns and cities but it’s very hard to access the great outdoors via public transit in New York. Yeah, our buses sometimes smell like piss but not always and the train is generally pretty clean. I’ve never been on any public transportation in any part of New York that didn’t smell like piss from front to back, often with the offending puddle in plain view.

Parking - Not a problem. If I’m heading out for the evening in a busy part of town I either take transit, fork over for a taxi, or plan to pay to park. If I’m heading to a quieter part of town or taking a mid-day trip, I drive and find parking. It’s really not that complicated and I know that I always have a choice - pay a little extra for cab or to park OR spend a little extra time taking transit. In Manhattan, one has no choice. You don’t drive. Once you get a spot, you keep it until street cleaning forces you to move. Call me a thinker but I’ll take choice over no choice every time.

Weather - The fog sucks but so does humidity. Here’s the difference I can drive out of the fog in twenty minutes and be in sunny Marin, the wine country, the Valley, etc… It takes two days and a drive across half America to escape the humidity and outside of Manhattan is…New Jersey and Long Island. Oh, and it doesn’t snow here. So when NYC, Boston and Chicago are buried underneath piles of snow, I’m going to go for a nice long walk along Baker Beach in a t-shirt. Plus, I like to grow things in my garden and I can grow and harvest fresh vegetables from my backyard year-round. Once, in Manhattan, I managed to get a bell pepper to sprout in my apartment by keeping the heat on high. By the way, summer’s here now and I’m looking forward to a warm weekend. I hear it’s been raining back east.

Start-up Guys - Yeah, these guys are obnoxious. But I respect their enthusiasm more than I disdain their lack of social manners or the social manners of someone who moves to a new place and writes an essay about why he hates it. Between being bored by some dude chatting up the next big ap or being bored by someone telling me how miserable they are to be here, I’ll take the excitable geek any day. People here are into shit. From metal art to surfing to high finance to book reading to urban planning to every type of music to food high and low, etc… I may not dig your interest but I appreciate your passion.

49ers - It’s funny for a guy who doesn’t show his face on his twitter feed to criticize other people’s looks. Anyhow, in my experience, people who generalize an entire gender are usually totally clueless about how to engage that gender. I mean, these attractive, snobby women are finding someone to date and marry and have children who will someday annoy Peter. Either all the “good women” have left San Francisco or someone, let’s call him PS, never learned how to talk to girls. By-the-way Peter - The fucking 49ers have left town for the suburbs (save a few more games) so let’s not toss them around like the good cookie in a box of stale crackers. They aren’t really a part of the City anymore. The 49ers are a tv show now, nothing more.

Homeless People - SF is named for Saint Francis. He’s basically the patron saint of compassion, compromise and love so let me explain something to you: We don’t hate homeless people. Most are sick with an addiction, mental issues or some serious screwed-up trauma from their past. We want to help them become healthy so THEY can gain the tools needed to be a healthy, dignified, self-sustaining member of our community. We don’t want to punish them or ridicule them or even show them the error of their ways. We want to help them. Next time you see a homeless person, instead of thinking that they are a problem, consider how you might help them and then sign up for to provide volunteer services through Homeless Connect. It might open your eyes and mind. If nothing else, try a little compassion and consider what might have happened to this person that they end up is this kind of situations. Maybe you should even take five minutes and actually talk to this other human being and learn about them before making these harsh judgements. Read Doc Gurley’s old columns on SF Gate. Powerful stuff.

Crime - Yes, like Manhattan, the wealthy and less fortunate live side-by-side in San Francisco. And for my money, I wouldn’t have it any other way. If I wanted to live in a manufactured environment behind iron gates, I’d move there. It’s the economic diversity, as well as the cultural diversity, that makes our city so interesting and dynamic. I feel fortunate to never have been victim of a crime in San Francisco but I also don’t strut around wearing google glass or chatting on my phone about my expensive new gadget on 14 Mis. Common sense is requisite for city living. That’s why it’s called street smarts. But it has to be earned, not bought, especially by “normal upstanding citizens.”

Nightlife - This baffled me. Bars here close at 2am? I guess though I can usually drink until 230am or so. Oh and when the bars do close, there is ALWAYS an public/private/invite afterparty where the booze continues to flow (often for free) and one could always go to an all night dance club. SF can be hard city for a meal after 2am but parties here can last for days on end… Oh, and our nightlife is fucking great no matter who you are. Arts and lectures and food and concerts big and small and hills for stargazing and nightime sports leagues and great bars of every sort and professional sports by the handful. Not to mention the street fairs and officially sanctioned parties that stretch past midnight. When have you ever sat on you couch on a Saturday night in SF and said, “there’s nothing to do”? NEVER.

Cost of Living - Yup, housing and nearly everything else here seems expensive. Except beer. I get a cheap beer anywhere. And fresh fruits and produce - yup, many, many corner stores and farmers markets have super fresh, super cheap fruits and veggies. And burritos and tacos. Those are cheap too. And entertainment. Lots of free art, free festivals, free shows, free places to hang out. We have lots of free and cheap sports facilities - ball fields and disc golf courses and cheap sailing programs and even rock climbing in Glen Canyon. And our tap water is the best of any major city in the US and it’s free so we got that going for us. And, given Peter’s dislike of transit, walking’s free and will get you anywhere, with the hills providing a free workout to boot! Our beaches are free unlike New York. The Dolores Park beach is especially free, as is the entire park which is an utter spectacle any non-rainy day of the year. Weed is cheap but not free unless the person picnicking next to you sparks up in which case it’s kosher in SF to ask for a puff, for free. One can peek through the fence at AT&T and watch the Giants play ball for free. This weekend there’s even a free medieval faire in Golden Gate Park. So while the cost of living is “too damn high” one generally CHOOSES to spend money rather than HAS to spend money on anything besides rent. And one more thing for folks in the tech industry, you do realize that you receive an inflated salary and that if your plans for disruption fall short, you will have to humble yourself to a job with a more normal salary, right? Look around your workspace. If lucky, one in ten is going to have a long, successful career that makes buckets of money and most, in five years, will chalk their time in SF up to a really cool “life experience.” See example A: 2000 dotcom crash.

Bicyclists - Yup, they can be annoying when I’m driving. Of course, when I’m riding my bike it’s the drivers who make me crazy but that’s besides the point. Many, many bicyclists are total assholes - young and arrogant and full of themselves (sound familiar, Peter?) and cycling rules certainly need to be clarified at the state level. But they are also the flip side of the Google Bus - both take cars off the road and out of parking spots, both ease traffic even when blocking a lane, and by doing so, both make city life a little more tolerable for EVERYONE even as they create minor inconveniences for all of us as individuals at certain times.

Most of all, dude, chill out. This is life, not a race. Try to enjoy where you are instead of where you think you should be. You’ll be happier. So will we.

Send this joker to Chicago - a REAL city! - for a week, and we’ll show him what a paradise SF is in comparison. 3rd world mass transit, an unrepentantly crooked government, horrific weather, an astronomical crime rate…

Well written - you make great points - but you highlight one of the key reasons I don’t live in California - there are just too many Californians.

As an ex-Californian - the points he made are mostly valid. His approach - maybe a bit too satirical for my tastes - could use a bit more fact and honey. But I must admit I did smile at a few of his jests. Sad.

San Francisco has a homeless problem. The homeless are very aggressive - they almost feel entitled if you get by drift. Chicago, New York, St. Louis - even Atlanta - it wouldn’t be tolerated for a homeless person peeing in the street or sleeping in the doorway of a functional business. I’m all for addressing the problem and providing support - but it must be a reciprocal - and in San Francisco it is not reciprocal - it’s very one way.

Maybe I’m not cool enough or I like 60 degree swings in temp or I really HATE Everything south of Half Moon Bay - but that’s OK - I moved on and out because the people are just not my style. Not all of them - but more than I felt comfortable being around. Doesn’t mean others must leave - to each his/own..

I do agree with your last point “Life is not a race.” I would add an additional point, “Life is not a race - but you do need to be either in it, watching it, supporting it, deploring it, but you can’t be ignoring it.”

Becky your response to Peter is excellent and makes your points clearly without personal attacks. This is very refreshing in today’s society. I escaped San Francisco several years ago and although Peter is vulgar and misogynistic, he makes the same points that people who are not FROM San Francisco always make, and those points are true to the casual observer.

The secret to surviving or even flourishing in the City is to learn from a native the best ways to live there. Only then can you unlock the true vibe of San Francisco. It can be a great place to live if you understand what San Francisco is and what it is not. It is not Manhattan, it is the polar opposite of Los Angeles and most closely resembles an American version of Taipei.

Like any big city there are compromises that you have to make such as parking or congestion in general. I was driven away by the crime rate, which in my Mission District neighborhood was so out of control that the police were on my block literally every day investigating some sort of serious crime. It’s too bad and I blame it on the Mayor, Gavin Newsome who was more interested in elections than problem solving.

Thank you so much Becky. Your well thought out and rational response shows that there are actually reasonable people who live in this great city that don’t need to immediately jump to extreme sides of every issue. Maybe there is a glimmer of hope for society.

Apart from the utterly contemptible Peter Shih post, there actually are a ton of ways to take public transit to the great outdoors from Manhattan. You can hit Central Park. You can go west to the Hudson, east to the East River, north to Inwood Hill Park or south to Battery Park: about 30 miles of Manhattan’s 32-mile perimeter is a waterfront walking-jogging-biking path, much of it park-ed up. Or walk, bike, jog across the GW Bridge to River Road on the NJ Palisades. You can get on the Metro North train at Grand Central, take a beautiful hour-long ride up the Hudson River Valley, and get off at the Appalachian Trail. From Penn Station you can take NJ Transit to small towns a rural bike ride past alpaca farms to the Delaware River, or take Long Island Rail Road east to the beaches, surfing, and camping at Montauk. You could also surf (lots of people do) straight in NYC - just catch the subway to Rockaway Beach. I’ve lived here 5 years - the next train or bus I get on that smells like urine will be the first. No need to take a swipe at NYC to rebut this guy!

Peter and db's like him need to go | August 15th, 2013 @ 5:00pm[Permalink]

It’s possible to post comments on his company fb site! He’ll take them down shortly thereafter but it’s fun if you guys want to post there. I saw someone just post “Peter, did you just take down the Uptown Almanac site?”

I’m very logically assuming that none of you critics are actually natives in the city. Coming from a person who grew up with every point Peter’s mentioned, I think he’s genius. Most of my visitors would probably see 8 out of 10 of these points within 2-3 days of their visits, and then I would have to try explaining to them what’s going on (but in just a less witty way) so that they won’t think my city is some freakshow drowned with morons that take every piece of ass seriously.

But really you so-called SF Public Defenders, if you have a complaints about complaints about my still so awesome city, THENGETTHEFUCKOUT! We don’t need senseless whiners in the city.

I am a native who now lives in Oakland and, yeah, his gripes might be true, but the tone is infantile, full of whine, and just flat out pathetic. And you calling him a “genius” reflects more on you than anything we say. Fucking me, do you set the bar low for “genius.” SF has its issues and many of us want them worked on - but not to cater to some juvenile transplant who thinks he knows what a City is and should be. Not his ilk.

The term “genius” does need a bar. It should be reserved for those who do more than moan. And “idiot” should have a threshold too. Which you sauntered right over when you called Peter a genius and said those calling him out aren’t “natives.” Both being untrue and, well, idiotic.

It appears you need an education on what senseless, idiot, genius, and whining mean. I certainly hope you’re Peter. Or 15 years old. ‘Cause you make little sense as you sycophantically defend an absurd post. If you’re Peter or 15, you at least have an excuse for pushing such drivel.

Aside from genius, I believe you’re already acting out what the other three words mean. I really don’t need an Ivy League education on how wannabe geniuses should react to a pure critique of a not-so-flawless city like San Francisco. And 15?! Glad to know I’m still older than you. I’d be surprised if Peter even bothered to respond to your “sycophantic” comments because you could never be as worthy as San Francisco. I hope Oaklanders don’t occupy your house tonight. Have a great evening.

You have a wonderful evening too, Peter. I hope you can come up with more mom jokes, silly jabs at Oakland, and more ways to disparage a City you say you’re from as you do whatever it is you do (credit cards with peanut butter on them!).

If you’re native to SF, why do you have so many visitors from out of town? I grew up in SF and have only been away for college, we never talked about Oakland like it was a terribly different place – East Bay, Peninsula, whatever, always been part of the same area to me. Yet you make fun of a guy in these comments for “leaving” to Oakland? Hmmm. Stop hiding under the Bay Bridge, troll.

What a snob. People like you Peter, are ruining SF more than any summer fog, “49”r or homeless person possibly can. Haven’t we all matured beyond this SF isn’t a “real” city crap? Every city just like every person has it’s own flavor and personality. Yes SF gets cold in the Summer….you know why? Because we get some cold air from Alaska here in SF!

Homelessness? They usually stay in cities where there are some resources available where there is food, shelter, access to medical care, warm clothes. Thankfully SF has people who actually care to make a difference in the lives of homeless people.

MUNI? How can you hate on MUNI? It takes you to the Zoo, Pier 39, Ocean Beach etc! Fun adventures!

Peter, you strike me as the type of person who can complain about anything ie. Damn you ocean for being so wet and damn you sun for being hot!

San Francisco’s homelessness problem is terrible. It’s dangerous for everyone, especially children, and including the other homeless. The city and it’s leadership is very concerned with compassion and homeless people’s rights, and rightly so. But it means no one will touch this issue. And this really does require action.

Public transportation is woefully inadequate for a city of its size and density. Commuting to, say, the Persidio, from South of Market takes and hour or more at commute hour. That’s too long for such a short distance.

I love San Francisco. It’s my favorite city. I love the food, the people, the accessibility and the beauty! And I do agree that Peter uses some pretty negative and demeaning language. But I also notice that Kevin’s response holds no real valid counterpoints except that Peter is a douchebag. And that’s not very nice. Trying to make a point that a douchebag is a douchebag by responding to them in a mocking douchebag way is pretty juvenile. And although, I love love love San Francisco, I do agree with many of Peter’s points: It is absolutely ridiculous that the Bart stops at midnight, the homeless situation is out of control, the nightlife is kinda weak, the women (and hetero men) in sf really don’t seem to try and look nice and the bicyclists really do bitch a lot for the amount of stupid ass shit they do. I don’t care about football and the weather is kinda rad. Especially, when you live in the mission. So, all-in-all, both article could have been better written. And I see both sides. Thanks. Have a nice day.

Kevin pretty effectively exposes a lot of characteristics that are deplorable - the mysoginy and entitlement to name a few. He’s part of the problem. He (and his company) are taking money out of this city that’s not being taxed to fix the bulk of the problems he’s complaining about.

Dealing with steroidal cyclists is part of the tax that car drivers must pay for raw dogging the planet like a sorority girl after last call at Jose Shooters, especially when you live in a city with as tiny of a physical footprint as San Francisco.

I live on the other coast, and we just got back from a few days in SF.

When we first got married, we talked about moving to The Bay Area. Then the .com frenzy hit, and we were promptly priced out of the market.

Everything that Mr Shih says is true, but IMO, that’s what makes SF cool. If I could afford it, I would move the family to SF in a heartbeat. The street people are annoying, but not more than the street people in LA, Chicago, NYC, or Boston.
He’s a whiny douchebag, but nothing he complains about is new.

I just went to Shih;s Twitter page., not a 9, barely a 4..honestly, he sounds like a narcissistic, misogynist, who loves to talk shit. SF is one of the best cities in the world. SF takes all comers, so unfortunately, this douchebag is welcome here. Part of why I love this city, is because it embraces every type of person and personality. But, we city folk take our city seriously and people who live here, usually love being here. Rent’s are high, because the demand is high. You learn to wear layers and you always miss it when you leave. I am reminded of Broke Ass Stuart’s poem about SF and I hope this helps Mr. Shih understand how lucky he is, to live here.

It’s not really the points he made, some are valid (and we shouldn’t be complacent, agreed), but it’s more who he is and what he represents in the context of the current cultural degradation, misappropriation, and displacement that we’re sorely experiencing. In short, we really don’t like douchebags here. Most of us have come here to escape them.

I wrote the above as if it wasn’t actually you posting that, Peter. ;)